Conversions of office buildings for residential uses are becoming increasingly viable in some regions. According to Steven Paynter, a principal at Gensler who leads the firm’s global building transformation and adaptive use practice, office-to-residential conversions are viable in 25–30 percent of the buildings his team analyzes.

The second half of 2020 through to the following year was probably the busiest investment period in the two decades at Brookfield in the Asia Pacific region, according to the investment management firm managing partner and chief investment officer Lowell Baron. Baron spoke at a fireside chat session at the 2023 ULI Asia Pacific Summit opposite moderator Radha Dhir, JLL’s CEO and country head for India.

At a 2023 ULI Spring Meeting panel titled “View from the Top,” Tsering Yangki, executive vice president at Dream Unlimited, one of Canada’s leading real estate companies, with over $23 billion in assets across North America and Europe, spoke with WLI chair Ellen Klasson, managing director at RCLCO.

The ULI Foundation has announced that Alex J. Rose, executive vice president for Continental Development Corporation, has donated $1 million to support ULI’s Advisory Services program, which offers expertise and technical assistance to communities facing complex land use challenges. This gift is a contribution to the ULI Foundation’s first capital campaign, Our Cities, Our Future, which aims to raise $100 million in support of the Institute’s global mission.

When the Field Building on Chicago’s LaSalle Street opened in 1932, it was a technological and architectural marvel, with high-speed elevators, drinking fountains, and even air-conditioning, a first for the city. Nearly a century later, the 1.3-million-square-foot (120,774 sq m) Art Deco landmark is a pioneer of a different sort.

Office property owners who were able to weather the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic are crashing into a hard reality wrought by sharply lower demand and higher interest rates. Undercurrents of stress are now emerging in the form of defaults.

Jay Bailey, president and CEO of the Atlanta-based Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs, or RICE, is committed to championing Black entrepreneurs and creating unparalleled opportunities. Urban Land recently interviewed Bailey on the subject of how commercial real estate can be used to help close the racial wealth gap.

ULI has selected architect Hans Papke as the recipient of the 2021–2022 Apgar Thought Leader Award, which recognizes the authors of outstanding written works for Urban Land.

ULI and PwC US has released Emerging Trends in Real Estate ^® 2023, an annual report highlighting the trends shaping the real estate industry. Insights from the report reconfirm two bifurcated market trends: aspects of the real estate industry are “normalizing” and reverting to pre-COVID patterns while others have permanently shifted to the “new normal” that was adopted with the pandemic.

ULI has released a case study on One Museum Place, a 250-meter-tall premium office tower with a six-story lifestyle podium located in downtown Shanghai. Developed by U.S.-based developer Hines, the mixed use project opened in March 2018, and has since won a number of green building certifications including LEED Platinum for Core and Shell and industry accolades including 2022 ULI Asia Pacific Excellence Award. Located next to Shanghai Natural History Museum and Sculpture Garden, One Museum Place is considered one of the city’s premium buildings.